Ted's Polish-Mexican Page

We are half way through the qualifiers for the World Cup Finals in the CONCACAF region. The US defeated Panama last night 3-0. Expect Panama coach José Hernandez to be packing up his bags later this week. Fullham (and former Columbus Crew) Forward Brian McBride scored the third goal just before half-time. The crowd, rowdy before the goal, was out of the game for the rest of the match. For large stretches of the game, Panama had posession but were so far into their end that it really didn't matter. When they did push forward, it was the same each time: straight up the middle. Panama can count themselves lucky that they were not beaten by the 6-0 margin that the US beat them by in October. At some point, a fan ran on to the field, but John Paul della Camara said "We won't be showing that to you..." Why the heck not? It was more interesting than you and Marcelo Balboa going on about how much better Panama was when the Dely Valdes brothers were playing for them.

Oh, yeah, J. P. had several clever things to say about Chelo's last name. See, they were in Panama, and his name is Balboa. It's really funny the fourth or fifth time.

Trinidad and Tobago lost their match against Mexico. It was to be expected, really. However, they managed to keep Mexico scoreless in the first half. The fans were not pleased with the performance of the Tricolores and jeered them into the locker room. They came back and scored two goals for the victory, however. I read on the Trinidad and Tobago website that they call the team the Soca Warriors. What the heck is "soca"? Is that a play on the accent?

New England player Avery John had a spectacular save on a shot from Alberto Medina. Yes, Avery John is a midfielder, that's what made it so cool.

If the standings hold, Mexico, the United States, Costa Rica would qualify, with Trinidad & Tobago having to play in a match with the top team in the Oceana region (either Australia or the Solomon Islands) to qualify.

A bear was spotted at Udall Park yesterday morning, a fact that would have made Mo Udall smile. The area has several major washes, which serve as "freeways" for all sorts of wildlife. My parents live nearby, they have had regular visitations from Javelinas, and my dad and the neighbors have seen mountain lion and bobcat tracks. The smart folks don't let their cats out at night.

One of the upsides to living in Tucson is this sort of thing happens pretty regularly, even in midtown. There are even smaller cities where this doesn't happen, because their areas lack the variety of animals we have here. This is happening more frequently now because of the prolonged drought. Still, its nice to be reminded that we are just visitors here in the desert.

The downside is that people, even those who claim to love nature, seem to think of these animals as invaders. As if somehow, a bear, a mountain lion or a snake are suposed to know about property lines and other such things. You move out to a city that is, no matter what "progress" has been made, still a rather isolated outpost in the wilderness, you should expect animals to show up and act like animals. The most bizarre are the folks who move to the outskirts of town, and get angry that the animals show up. A few years ago some guy out by Ironwood Forest actually wanted to sue Fish and Game for not controlling their animals that crossed the line into his property. They went out there to enjoy the wilderness, and are suprised when the wilderness wanted to enjoy them as well.